Charging management chip for charging battery based on switching charging and direct charging, and operating method of charging management chip

ABSTRACT

A charging management chip includes a switching charging circuit and a direct charging circuit. The switching charging circuit receives charging power, and passes through the charging power to a first node, and charges a battery according to a switching charging method and controls generation of a system voltage provided to an electronic system. The direct charging circuit receives the charging power applied to the first node via an input node, and charges the battery according to a direct charging method by providing the charging power to an output node based on a switching circuit therein. The switching charging circuit charges the battery through a first charging path including an inductor arranged outside the charging management chip, and the direct charging circuit charges the battery through a second charging path through which the charging power transferred to the output node is directly provided to the battery.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No.10-2019-0113024, filed on Sep. 11, 2019, in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure relates to a charging management chip, and moreparticularly, to a charging management chip for charging a battery basedon a switching charging and direct charging method, and an operatingmethod of the charging management chip.

2. Description of Related Art

Electronic systems such as mobile devices or portable devices usebatteries to supply power. Various methods are used to charge thebatteries. For example, the batteries may be directly charged by adirect charging method using chargers that support direct charging, orthe batteries may be charged by a switching charging method usinggeneral chargers. In general, the direct charging method may have ahigher charging efficiency than the switching charging method.

However, charging circuits for the direct charging method and theswitching charging method need to be provided separately in anelectronic system. In general, the charging circuit for the directcharging method and the charging circuit for the switching chargingmethod may be implemented in separate chips. In this case, the number ofsemiconductor chips mounted in the electronic system is increased tosupport the direct charging and switching charging methods, andaccordingly, a size of the electronic system is increased also.

SUMMARY

It is an aspect to provide a charging management chip in which a directcharging circuit and a switching charging circuit are embedded, and anoperation method of the charging management chip.

According to an aspect of an example embodiment, there is provided acharging management chip comprising a switching charging circuitconfigured to receive charging power from an external charger and passthrough the charging power to a first node, and configured to charge abattery according to a switching charging method and control generationof a system voltage provided to an electronic system comprising thecharging management chip; and a direct charging circuit configured toreceive the charging power applied to the first node via an input node,and configured to charge the battery according to a direct chargingmethod by providing the charging power to the battery via an output nodebased on a switching operation of a switching circuit therein, whereinthe switching charging circuit charges the battery through a firstcharging path comprising an inductor arranged outside the chargingmanagement chip, and the direct charging circuit charges the batterythrough a second charging path through which the charging powertransferred to the output node is provided directly to the battery.

According to an aspect of an example embodiment, there is provided acharging management chip configured to control a charging operation fora battery, the charging management chip comprising a switching chargingcircuit comprising a first input switch configured to transfer, to afirst node, charging power provided from an external charger, theswitching charging circuit being connected via a second node to one nodeof an inductor arranged outside the charging management chip andarranged in a switching charging path, the switching charging circuitbeing connected via a third node to a node corresponding to another endof the inductor and configured to provide a system voltage, theswitching charging circuit being configured to charge the battery byproviding the charging power to the battery when the switching chargingcircuit is connected to the battery via a fourth node; and a directcharging circuit configured to receive the charging power transmittedvia the first input switch at an input node that is connected to thefirst node, the direct charging circuit being configured to charge thebattery by directly providing the charging power via an output node tothe battery according to a switching state of a switching circuitconnected between the input node and the output node, wherein while thedirect charging circuit operates in a direct charging mode, theswitching charging circuit operates in a switching charging mode ofcharging the battery according to a switching charging method or in abuck mode of generating the system voltage

According to an aspect of an example embodiment, there is provided anoperation method of a charging management chip, the operation methodcomprising in response to an external charger being connected, charginga battery based on a switching charging method by using a switchingcharging circuit comprised in the charging management chip; determiningwhether the external charger supports a direct charging function; inresponse to determining that the external charger supports the directcharging function, passing through charging power provided to theswitching charging circuit to an input node of a direct charging circuitprovided in the charging management chip; charging the battery based ona direct charging method by dividing the charging power transferred tothe input node and providing the divided charging power to the batteryvia an output node of the direct charging circuit; and in response to avoltage of the battery reaching a certain set level, terminating thedirect charging method and changing a charging mode such that thebattery is charged based on the switching charging method.

According to an aspect of an example embodiment, there is provided acharging management chip comprising a switching charging circuitconfigured to receive charging power from an external charger, and tocharge a battery through an inductor connected externally to thecharging management chip according to a switching charging method andcontrol generation of a system voltage provided to an electronic systemcomprising the charging management chip; and a direct charging circuitconfigured to charge the battery according to a direct charging methodby providing the charging power directly to the battery without passingthrough a passive component, wherein the switching charging circuitpasses through the charging power to the direct charging circuit tocharge the battery according to the direct charging method.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various example embodiments will be more clearly understood from thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a charging management chipaccording to an example embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of thecharging management chip of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating an example implementation of acharging management chip, according to example embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an implementation example of acharging management chip receiving power from a Universal Serial Bus(USB) Type-C connector, according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a semiconductor chip according toan example embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a chargingmanagement chip, according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed example of a directcharging operation, according to an example embodiment;

FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C are circuit diagrams illustrating various chargingmodes of a charging management chip, according to example embodiments;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a charging operationusing the various charging modes illustrated in FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C,according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 10 illustrates an implementation example of a charging managementchip, according to various example embodiments;

FIGS. 11A and 11B are graphs illustrating examples of a charging profileaccording to a related art switching charging method and a chargingprofile according to a charging method according to an exampleembodiment, respectively;

FIGS. 12A, 12B, 13A, and 13B are circuit diagrams illustrating exampleimplementations of a switching circuit provided in a direct chargingcircuit, according to various example embodiments;

FIG. 14 is a graph illustrating another example of a charging profile ofa charging management chip, according to an example embodiment; and

FIGS. 15 and 16 are block diagrams illustrating implementation examplesof electronic systems including charging management chips, according toexample embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, example embodiments are described in detail with referenceto the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a charging management chipaccording to an example embodiment. In FIG. 1, a charging managementchip 100 and a battery 101 connected thereto are further illustrated,and the charging management chip 100 and the battery 101 may becomponents included in an electronic system (or an electronic device).

The charging management chip 100 may be implemented in various forms.For example, the charging management chip 100 may be implemented as onesemiconductor device (or a semiconductor chip or a semiconductorpackage). According to example embodiments, the charging management chip100 may include a switching charging circuit 110 and a direct chargingcircuit 120, and when the charging management chip 100 is implemented asone semiconductor chip, various circuits included in the switchingcharging circuit 110 and the direct charging circuit 120 may be formedon one semiconductor substrate. In other words, various circuitsincluded in the switching charging circuit 110 and the direct chargingcircuit 120 may be formed on the same semiconductor substrate. Inaddition, the circuits included in the switching charging circuit 110and the direct charging circuit 120 may be formed on the samesemiconductor substrate by using the same semiconductor process.

The charging management chip 100 may be mounted on a board (notillustrated) in the electronic system, and when the charging managementchip 100 is mounted on the board in the electronic system, the chargingmanagement chip 100 may be connected to one or more circuit elementsarranged in connection with a charging operation. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 1, the charging management chip 100 may be connectedto an inductor L, a capacitor C, or the like. In other words, accordingto an example embodiment, the inductor L and the capacitor C, among thecomponents illustrated in FIG. 1, may be arranged outside the chargingmanagement chip 100 corresponding to one semiconductor chip.

The charging management chip 100 according to various exampleembodiments may be applied to various types of electronic systems. Forexample, the charging management chip 100 may be included in varioustypes of electronic systems such as a smartphone, a tablet personalcomputer, a mobile phone, a video phone, an e-book reader, and a desktoppersonal computer, a laptop personal computer (PC), a netbook computer,a workstation, a server, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portablemultimedia player (PMP), an MP3 player, a mobile medical device, acamera, or a wearable device.

The charging management chip 100 may be connected to a wired chargerand/or a wireless charger of the outside the charging management chip100 or the electronic device or electronic system in which the chargingmanagement chip 100 is included, and may receive power from the wiredcharger and/or the wireless charger. According to embodiments, the wiredcharger may be referred to as a travel adapter (TA), and accordingly,terms of the wired charger and terms of the TA may be usedinterchangeably. In addition, charging power sources to be mentioned inthe following embodiments may be used with various meanings. Forexample, a power provided from a charger may represent a charging power,or some of the power actually provided to the battery 101 may representa charging power.

In an embodiment, the electronic system employing the chargingmanagement chip 100 may include a wired interface TAIN and a wirelessinterface WCIN. Power from the wired charger may be provided via thewired interface TAIN to the charging management chip 100, and power fromthe wireless charger may be provided via the wireless interface WCIN tothe charging management chip 100. At least some of the power from thewired charger and the wireless charger may be used as the charging powerto charge the battery 101.

The wired interface TAIN may include various types of connectors such asa universal serial bus (USB), and may be connected to an external wiredcharger via the connector. In addition, the wireless interface WCIN mayinclude a coil (for example, a conductive pattern) and a wirelesscharging integrated circuit (IC), and may wirelessly transmit andreceive power to/from a wireless charger such as a charging pad.

The charging management chip 100 may charge the battery 101 by usingvarious methods such as a normal charging method, a fast chargingmethod, and a direct charging method. For example, the switchingcharging circuit 110 may charge the battery 101 in the normal chargingmethod and the fast charging method, and the direct charging circuit 120may charge the battery 101 in the direct charging method. The directcharging method may be a method of directly supplying, to the battery101, the power provided by the wired charger and/or the wireless charger(which may be collectively referred to as a charger according toembodiments), and may improve power efficiency and accordingly, reduceheat and a charging time of the battery 101. Here, directly supplyingthe power provided by the wired charger and/or the wireless charger maydenote that the power is supplied to the battery directly withoutpassing through a frequency component, such as an inductor or capacitor.

For example, the charger may support only a normal charging function ora fast charging function, and the switching charging circuit 110 mayperform normal charging to support a charging capacity of about 5 W toabout 15 W depending on a type of the charger, or perform a fastcharging function to support a charging capacity of about 15 W to about20 W, and in the case of the switching charging method, may have acharging efficiency of about 90% to about 93%. When the charger supportsa direct charging function, the direct charging circuit 120 may performdirect charging with a charging efficiency of about 96% to about 98%,and since the charging efficiency of the direct charging is higher, heatdissipation characteristics may also be improved.

In the switching charging method, a charging operation of the battery101 may be performed based on a constant voltage control and a constantcurrent control. In the direct charging method, the charging operationof the battery 101 may be performed mainly based on the constant currentcontrol. However, it is difficult to precisely control a charge amount(i.e., a voltage of a battery) of the battery 101 by using a constantvoltage control. Therefore, in the direct charging method, even when adedicated charger for supporting the direct charging function isconnected to the electronic system, it may be required to charge thebattery 101 by using the direct charging method and the switchingcharging method together.

Each of the switching charging circuit 110 and the direct chargingcircuit 120 may include a charging path for transferring the chargingpower from the charger to the battery 101. As an example, the switchingcharging circuit 110 or the direct charging circuit 120 may selectivelycharge the battery 101, or the switching charging circuit 110 and thedirect charging circuit 120 may charge the battery 101 together. Inother words, only one of the switching charging circuit 110 or thedirect charging circuit 120 may charge the battery 101, or both of theswitching charging circuit 110 and the direct charging circuit 120 maycharge the battery 101. For example, the switching charging circuit 110may include a first node VBYP to which the charging power is passedthrough to directly provide the charging power from the charger to aninput node VIN of the direct charging circuit 120. In other words, theswitching charging circuit 110 passes through the charging power fromthe charger directly to the direct charging circuit 120 via the firstnode VBYP thus bypassing other components of the switching chargingcircuit 110.

The switching charging circuit 110 may further include a second node LX,a third node VSYS, and a fourth node VBAT. In a switching chargingoperation, the charging power may be provided to the battery 101 througha first charging path via the second node LX, the inductor L, the thirdnode VSYS, and the fourth node VBAT. The third node VSYS may beconnected to a system voltage Vsys (see FIG. 2) provided to a circuitblock inside and/or outside the charging management chip 100. Inaddition, the inductor L may be connected between the second node LX andthe third node VSYS, and the capacitor C may be connected between thethird node VSYS and a ground. The fourth node VBAT may output a voltagefor charging the battery 101.

The direct charging circuit 120 may include the input node VIN and anoutput node VOUT. The input node VIN may be connected to the first nodeVBYP of the switching charging circuit 110, and the output node VOUT maybe connected to the battery 101. In the direct charging method, thecharging power received via the input node VIN may be directly providedto the battery 101 via the output node VOUT. In other words, thecharging power in the direct charging method may be provided through aninput circuit of the switching charging circuit 110, and accordingly,the input circuits of the charging power for switching charging anddirect charging may be shared. In addition, the output node VOUT of thedirect charging circuit 120 may be directly connected to the battery101. For example, the charging path of the direct charging method mayinclude a path that does not include a passive element such as anexternal inductor or an external capacitor.

According to an example embodiment, the switching charging circuit 110and the direct charging circuit 120 may include circuits for switchingthe charging power, and components (not illustrated) for controlling thecircuits may be integrated together in a semiconductor chipcorresponding to the charging management chip 100. In addition, sincethe charging management chip 100 is implemented as one semiconductorchip, the charging management chip 100 may include one or more terminalsconnected to external devices. In other words, one or more pins of thecharging management chip 100 may be connected to external devices. Forexample, the charging management chip 100 may include terminalsconnected to the wired interface TAIN and the wireless interface WCIN,terminals connected to external circuits (for example, the inductor L,the capacitor C, etc.), and terminals connected to the battery 101.

According to an example embodiment, since the switching charging circuit110 and the direct charging circuit 120 may be integrated in onesemiconductor chip, and the input circuit of the charging power for theswitching charging and the direct charging may be shared, the size ofthe charging management chip 100 may be reduced, and in addition, thesize of a mobile device or a portable device employing the chargingmanagement chip 100 may be reduced.

In example embodiments, the battery 101 may include a nickel-cadmium(Ni—Cd) battery, a nickel-hydride (Ni-MH) battery, a lithium ionbattery, or the like, but example embodiments are not limited thereto.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of thecharring management chip 100 of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the switching charging circuit 110 mayinclude an input switching circuit 111, a buck control circuit 112, anda power path control circuit 113. In addition, the direct chargingcircuit 120 may include a switching circuit 121 connected between theinput node VIN and the output node VOUT. In addition, according to theabove-described example embodiment, the charging management chip 100 maybe connected to circuit elements related to charging of the battery 101,and as an example, an inductor L and a capacitor C connected to one ormore nodes of the switching charging circuit 110 may be furtherillustrated.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, an over voltage protection circuit (OVP) IC102 may be further included in the electronic system, and the chargingpower from the wired charger may be provided to the charging managementchip 100 via the OVP IC 102. As an implementation example, the OVP IC102 may be implemented as a separate semiconductor chip, andaccordingly, the OVP IC 102 may be outside the charging management chip100. When a voltage provided from the wired charger corresponds to anover voltage, the OVP IC 102 may prevent damage to circuits inside thecharging management chip 100 by blocking the power from the wiredcharger from being provided to the charging management chip 100.

The input switching circuit 111 may include one or more switches toswitch the charging power from the wired charger and the wireless chargeinto the charging management chip 100. According to a configuration ofthe one or more switches and a switch on/off state of the switches, theinput switching circuit 111 may provide the charging power to the buckcontrol circuit 112, or may pass through the charging power to providethe charging power directly to the direct charging circuit 120 via thefirst node VBYP, while bypassing the buck control circuit 112 and thepower path control circuit 113 of the switching charging circuit 110.

The buck control circuit 112 may control an operation of converting thecharging power received via the input switching circuit 111 into avoltage or current of a level suitable for charging the battery 101, andin addition, may control an operation of converting the charging powerfrom the battery 101 into a voltage or current at a level suitable forbeing used inside the electronic system. As an example, the buck controlcircuit 112 may include one or more switches, and may control thecharging operation or an operation of generating the system voltage Vsysby controlling the switches according to various modes. The buck controlcircuit 112 may be connected to one end of an inductor L outside thecharging management chip 100 via the second node LX, and may provide thecharging power to the second node LX via a switching operation.

The power path control circuit 113 may control a power path such thatthe charging power provided from the charger is provided to the battery101, or may perform an operation of controlling a power path such thatthe power from the battery 101 is provided to the system voltage Vsysused inside the electronic system. The power path control circuit 113may be connected to the third node VSYS and the fourth node VBAT, andperform the operation of controlling the power path.

As an example, the power path control circuit 113 may include one ormore switches, and provide a portion of the power provided from thecharger to the battery 101 as the charging power, and may control thepower path such that the other portion of the power is provided as thesystem voltage Vsys used inside the electronic system. As an operationexample, when the power of the electronic system is turned off, thepower supplied from the charger may be provided to the battery 101 asthe charging power, and when the power of the electronic system is on,some of the power provided from the charger may be provided to thebattery 101 as the charging power, and some of the power provided fromthe charger may be provided to the electronic system as the systemvoltage Vsys.

The switching circuit 121 included in the direct charging circuit 120may include one or more switches, and according to the switching stateof the switching circuit 121, an electrical circuit between the inputnode VIN and the output node VOUT may be controlled. As an example, insome example embodiments, the direct charging circuit 120 may perform afunction of a voltage divider (or a capacitor divider), divide thecharging power applied to the input node VIN, and provide the dividedcharging power to the output node VOUT and thus to the battery 101.However, this is only an example, and the switching circuit 121 may beimplemented in various forms. Depending on the implementation type ofthe switching circuit 121, a power of the same level as the chargingpower provided to the input node VIN may be provided to the output nodeVOUT, or a power of a different level from the charging power providedto the input node VIN may be provided to the output node VOUT.

According to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the input switchingcircuit 111 may be used as a circuit for receiving the charging power incommon in the switching charging operation and the direct chargingoperation, and accordingly, the size of the charging management chip 100that is implemented as one semiconductor chip (100) may be reduced. Inaddition, various charging modes using the switching charging circuit110 and the direct charging circuit 120 in one semiconductor chip may besupported, and accordingly, the charging operation for the battery 101may be selectively performed by any one of the switching chargingcircuit 110 and the direct charging circuit 120, or the chargingoperation for the battery 101 may be performed by both the switchingcharging circuit 110 and the direct charging circuit 120.

As described above, the various components illustrated in FIG. 2 mayinclude one or more switches, and the switches may be controlled bycontrol signals (not illustrated in FIG. 2) generated in the chargingmanagement chip 100. As an example, the charging management chip 100 mayinclude circuits for generating a control signal according to avoltage/current detected from various nodes therein, or according to thedetection result of the voltage/current of the battery 101, and based onthe detection result of the voltage/current, various switches in thecharging management chip 100 may be controlled. For example, thecircuits for generating the control signal may be implemented ashardware logic circuits, or may be implemented as a microprocessor thataccesses a memory to execute various codes for generating the controlsignal.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating an example implementation of acharging management chip 200 according to example embodiments. Thecircuit diagram illustrated in FIG. 3 merely illustrates oneimplementation example of a charging management chip, and a specificcircuit design may have a somewhat modified form in performing acharging function according to example embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 3, the charging management chip 200 may be implementedas a single semiconductor chip, and may include a switching chargingcircuit 210 and a direct charging circuit 220. In addition, theswitching charging circuit 210 may include an input switch circuit 211,a buck control circuit 212, and a power path control circuit 213, andthe direct charging circuit 220 may include a switching circuit Q31. Inaddition, the charging management chip 200 may be connected to the wiredinterface TAIN communicating with a wired charger and the wirelessinterface WCIN communicating with a wireless charger. In addition, FIG.3 illustrates an example in which an OVP IC 201 is outside the chargingmanagement chip 200 as in the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2,and a charging power via the wired interface TAIN may be provided to thecharging management chip 200 via the OVP IC 201. In addition, additionalcircuit elements may be used in relation with the charging operation fora battery 202, and the inductor L, the capacitor C, and the likeillustrated in FIG. 3 may be components arranged outside the chargingmanagement chip 200.

As in the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, each of the inputswitch circuit 211, the buck control circuit 212, and the power pathcontrol circuit 213 may include one or more switches. As an example, theinput switch circuit 211 may include a first input switch Q1 fortransferring the charging power received via the wired interface TAINand a second input switch Q2 for transferring the charging powerreceived via the wireless interface WCIN. In addition, the buck controlcircuit 212 may include one or more switches connected in series betweenan output of the input switch circuit 211 and a ground, and as anexample, may include a first buck control switch Q11 and a second buckcontrol switch Q12. A node between the first and second buck controlswitches Q11 and Q12 may be connected to the second node LX.

The power path control circuit 213 may include a path control switchQ21, and the path control switch Q21 may be connected between the thirdnode VSYS and the fourth node VBAT. The path control switch Q21 may beconnected to a node to which the system voltage Vsys is applied via thethird node VSYS, and may be connected to the battery 202 via the fourthnode VBAT. In addition, according to a switching state of the pathcontrol switch Q21 in conjunction with other switches, a first chargingpath Path_S according to the switching charging method may be formed.For example, the first charging path Path_S may extend from the wiredinterface TAIN and the wireless interface WCIN through the inductor L tothe battery, as illustrated in FIG. 3.

Various control signals for controlling the switches (Q1, Q2, Q11, Q12,and Q21) included in the switching charging circuit 210 may be generatedin the charging management chip 200. According to the example embodimentillustrated in FIG. 2, various control signals may be generated based ondetection results of voltage/current levels of various nodes in thecharging management chip 200 and/or nodes connected to the battery 202.In FIG. 3, control signals (Ctrl_Q1 and Ctrl_Q2) provided to the inputswitching circuit 211, control signals (Ctrl_Q11 and Ctrl_Q12) providedto the buck control circuit 212, and a control signal Ctrl_Q21 providedto the power path control circuit 213 are illustrated.

When charging is performed according to the direct charging method, thedirect charging circuit 220 may receive the charging power via wiringsinside the first node VBYP and the charging management chip 200, and theinput node VIN and the output node VOUT may be electrically connected toeach other based on the switching operation of the switch provided inthe switching circuit (for example, a direct charging switch Q31), andaccordingly, a second charging path Path_D according to the directcharging method may be formed, and the charging power may be provided tothe battery 202. For example, the second charging path Path_D may extendfrom the wired interface TAIN and the wireless interface WCIN throughthe input node VIN and the output node VOUT to the battery, asillustrated in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, a control signal Ctrl_Q31corresponding to one direct charging switch Q31 is illustrated in theswitching circuit, but in some embodiments a larger number of switchesmay be provided in the switching circuit.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an implementation example of acharging management chip 320 receiving power from a connector 310 of aUniversal Serial Bus (USB) Type-C structure. As an example, FIG. 4illustrates an electronic system 300 including the connector 310 of theUSB Type-C structure and the charging management chip 320 according toan example embodiment. Various terms described related with the USBType-C structure in FIG. 4 may be easily understood by those of ordinaryskill in the art by referring to the USB Type-C specification, and thusdetailed descriptions thereof are omitted for conciseness.

Referring to the electronic system 300 of FIG. 4, the connector 310 ofthe USB Type-C structure may be a component provided in the wiredinterface in the above-described embodiments. In addition, the pinsincluded in the connector 310 of the USB Type-C structure may have asymmetrical structure. In other words, when the wired charger isconnected to the connector 310, the wired charger may be connectedregardless of a directional characteristic of the wired charger due tothe symmetrical structure.

The connector 310 may include two rows of pins. For example, theconnector 310 may include pins of a first row (A1 through A12) and pins(B1 through B12) of a second row, and may support data communication atvarious speeds. For example, the connector 310 may include pins (A2 andA3, A10 and A11, B2 and B3, and B10 and B11) that support high-speeddata communication according to a first standard (for example, USB 3.1),and pins (A6 and A7, and B6 and B7) that support low-speed datacommunication according to a second standard (for example, USB 2.0) Inaddition, each of pins of the first row (A1 through A12) and pins of thesecond row (B1 through B12) may perform a unique function. For example,VBUS pins (A4, A9, B4, and B9) may correspond to a power supply pin, GNDpins (A1, A12, B1, and B12) may correspond to the pins transferring theground voltage, and sideband use (SBU) pins (A8 and B8) may be used tosupport an alternate (ALT) mode and may be used in cables includingThunderbolt, DisplayPort, HDMI, etc.

The electronic system 300 including the connector 310 may performbi-directional communication. As an example, when the electronic system300 is connected to an external device via the connector 310, theelectronic system 300 may operate as a host (for example, a downstreamfacing port (DFP)) or as a slave (an upstream facing port (UFP)).Alternatively, the electronic system 300 described above may operate asa dual role port (DRP), and in this case, the system 300 may adaptivelychange a role of the host (DFP) or the slave (UFP).

The role of the electronic system 300 as described above may bedesignated via configuration channels (CC) pins (A5 and B5) of theconnector 310. As an example, in the case of the USB interface, dataconnection and control may be performed by digital communication via aCC1 pin A5 and a CC2 pin B5.

The charging management chip 320 may receive a charging power V_TA viathe connector 310, and for example, may receive the charging power V_TAvia various pins (for example, the VBUS pins) of the connector 310. Thecharging management chip 320 may include a configuration channels (CC)circuit block 321, a switching charging circuit 322, and a directcharging circuit 323. The charging management chip 320 may furtherreceive a charging power V WCIN provided from a wireless charger (notillustrated) along with receiving the charging power V_TA via theconnector 310.

The CC circuit block 321 may be connected to at least one pin of theconnector 310, and for example, may be connected to the CC1 pin A5 andthe CC2 pin B5. As described above, the CC circuit block 321 maycommunicate with an external device (for example, a wired charger) viathe connector 310, and provide various pieces of information to theexternal device. For example, the CC circuit block 321 may provide leveladjustment information Info_UD via the connector 310 to the wiredcharger for adjusting a level of the charging power V_TA provided fromthe wired charger, and accordingly, may receive the charging power V_TAa level of which has been adjusted.

A charging process for a battery may perform an operation according to acertain charging profile, and the certain charging profile may includevarious charging modes. As an example, when it is assumed that thebattery is charged by the wired charger, the level of the charging powerV_TA may be increased or stepped down according to the charging profile,and since the CC circuit block 321 provides the level adjustmentinformation Info_UD to the wired charger, the level of the chargingpower V_TA may be changed. As an example, the level of the voltage ofthe battery or a level of the current provided to the battery may needto be maintained at a level within a certain range, and based on thedetection result of the voltage and/or current of the battery, the levelof the charging power supply V_TA may be increased or decreased byproviding the level adjustment information Info_UD to the wired charger.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example in which the charging management chip 320is connected to the connector 310 of the USB Type-C structure. However,example embodiments are not limited thereto and may be applied toconnectors of various other structures.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a semiconductor chip 400according to an example embodiment. In FIG. 5, the semiconductor chip400 in which various other functions are integrated together with theabove-described circuits for the switching charging and direct chargingis illustrated, and the semiconductor chip 400 may be referred to as acharging management chip as in the above-described example embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 5, the semiconductor chip 400 may include a CC circuitblock 410, a switching charging circuit 420, a direct charging circuit430, a power meter block 440, and a fuel gauge block 450. The CC circuitblock 410 may be connected to a connector (not illustrated) based on aUSB type according to the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, andmay be connected to an external device (for example, a wired charger)via a connector. According to an embodiment, the CC circuit block 410may be connected to the CC1 and CC2 pins A5 and B5 of a connector of theUSB Type-C structure, and may perform CC communication with a wiredcharger. Each of the switching charging circuit 420 and the directcharging circuit 430 may be implemented according to the above-describedembodiments, and accordingly, the switching charging circuit 420 maycharge a battery via the first charging path Path_S according to theswitching charging method, and the direct charging circuit 430 maycharge the battery via the second charging path Path_D according to thedirect charging method.

The power meter block 440 and the fuel gauge block 450 may detectvoltages, currents, and the like of various nodes in the semiconductorchip 400, and may output the detection results. For example, the powermeter block 440 and the fuel gauge block 450 may detect the voltage,current, and the like of the battery, and may output the detectionresults. As an example, each of the power meter block 440 and the fuelgauge block 450 may include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), andmay convert the detection result of the voltage and current into adigital signal and output the digital signal. As an example, the powermeter block 440 may provide detection results (Det_S1 and Det_D1) to theswitching charging circuit 420 and the direct charging circuit 430, andthe fuel gauge block 450 may provide detection results (Det_S2 andDet_D2) to the switching charging circuit 420 and the direct chargingcircuit 430.

As an implementation example, each of the switching charging circuit 420and the direct charging circuit 430 may include a hardware circuit blockto operate the switches according to a certain charging profile, and byusing the hardware circuit block, control signals corresponding to thedetection results (Det_S1, Det_D1, Det_S2, and Det_D2) from the powermeter block 440 and the fuel gauge block 450 may be generated to controlthe switches included in the switching charging circuit 420 and thedirect charging circuit 430.

As one of other various implementation examples, the control signalsfrom each of the power meter block 440 and the fuel gauge block 450 maybe used as control signals for controlling the switches provided in theswitching charging circuit 420 and the direct charging circuit 430.

The power meter block 440 may detect levels of voltages and currents ofvarious nodes in the semiconductor chip 400, and as an example ofoperation, may detect the levels of voltages and currents at an inputterminal receiving the charging power from a charger. In addition, thefuel gauge block 450 may detect various pieces of information (forexample, a capacity, the number of charging/discharging cycles,temperature, and/or the voltage/current) of the battery. Although notillustrated in FIG. 5, various types of information may be provided fromthe power meter block 440 and the fuel gauge block 450 to an applicationprocessor outside the CC circuit block 410 or outside the semiconductorchip 400.

According to the above-described embodiments, the CC circuit block 410may perform communication for adjusting the level of the charging poweraccording to the detection result of the level (for example, the voltagelevel and/or the current level) of the charging power from the charger.For example, the CC circuit block 410 may receive the detection resultfrom the power meter block 440 and/or the fuel gauge block 450, or mayreceive the detection result from a separate circuit (for example adetection sensor) included in the semiconductor chip 400.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a chargingmanagement chip, according to an example embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 6, a wired charger or a wireless charger may beconnected (S11). The charging management chip may be provided in anelectronic system including a battery, and may be connected to anexternal wired charger via a wired interface for wired charging of theelectronic system, and may also be connected to an external wirelesscharger via a wireless interface for wireless charging. The chargingmanagement chip may charge the battery by using a charging power from awired charger or a wireless charger. For example, since the chargingmanagement chip includes a switching charging circuit and a directcharging circuit, the charging management chip may enter variouscharging modes and perform a charging operation.

The battery is charged using a switching charging circuit (S12). Whenthe wired charger or the wireless charger (hereinafter, referred to as acharger) is connected to the electronic system, a switching chargingcircuit of the charging management chip may operate in the chargingmode, and accordingly, the battery may be charged by using the switchingcharging method, and a charge amount (or a battery voltage) of thebattery may be increased.

It is determined whether to switch to direct charging (S13). To performa direct charging operation according to the direct charging method,certain requirements may need to be satisfied, and accordingly, it maybe determined whether the certain requirements for performing the directcharging operation is satisfied. As an example, it may be determinedwhether the charger connected to the electronic system corresponds to acharger supporting a direct charging function. In addition, the voltageof the battery and/or voltages of one or more nodes in the chargingmanagement chip may be determined, and whether to switch to directcharging may be determined based on the voltage of the battery and/orthe voltages of the one or more nodes. For example, in the case wherethe direct charging operation is to be performed when the voltage of thebattery is greater than or equal to a certain reference level (forexample, a first reference level), it may be determined that the certainrequirement is satisfied when the voltage of the battery is greater thanor equal to the certain reference level.

When it is determined not to switch to direct charging (S13, NO), theprocess may proceed to S18. On the other hand, when it is determined toswitch to direct charging (S13, YES), the direct charging circuit mayoperate in a direct charging mode, and the switching charging circuitmay be bypassed (S14). For example, the direct charging circuit mayoperate in the direct charging mode, the switching charging circuit maybe bypassed and charging power from the charger may be passed from theinput circuit through the switching charging circuit and be provided toan input node of the direct charging circuit. The battery may be chargedusing the direct charging circuit (S15). For example, the charging powermay be provided to the battery via a switching circuit of a directcharging circuit and an output node by using a switching operation ofthe switching circuit in the direct charging circuit, and accordingly, abattery charging operation using the direct charging circuit may beperformed.

The charging operation according to the direct charging method may beperformed when the voltage level of the battery is within a certainrange. For example, as described above, when the battery voltage isequal to or greater than the certain first reference level, the chargingoperation according to the direct charging method may be started, andwhen the battery voltage is increased to reach a certain set level (forexample, a second reference level), the direct charging operation may beterminated, and the charging operation according to the switchingcharging method may be performed again.

Accordingly, it may be determined whether an amount of charge amount ofthe battery is greater than the set level (S16). When the charge amountof the battery is not greater than the set level (S16, NO), the batterycharging according to the direct charging method may be continuouslyperformed. On the other hand, when the charge amount of the battery isgreater than the set level (S16, YES), the charging may be changed backto charging using the switching charging circuit (S17). For example, thecharging mode may be changed back to charging using the switchingcharging circuit to finely adjust the charge amount of the battery basedon a constant voltage control scheme, and accordingly, an operation ofcharging the battery may be performed by using the switching chargingcircuit.

Thereafter, it may be determined whether the charging amount of thebattery is greater than or equal to a maximum charging value Max (S19).For example, the maximum charging value Max may be a maximum chargingvalue that is supported by charging, and when the charging amount of thebattery reaches the maximum charging value Max, the charging operationmay be terminated (S19). When the charging amount of the battery has notreached the maximum charging value Max (S18, NO), charging may becontinuously performed.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed example of a directcharging operation, according to an example embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7, the charger may be connected to the electronicsystem, and the voltage level of the battery may be detected (S21). Asan example, it may be determined whether the voltage level of thebattery corresponds to a level between a first reference level Vref1 anda second reference level Vref2 as levels that may be reached by thedirect charging. It may be determined whether the voltage level of thebattery is less than the first reference level Vref1 (S22), and when thevoltage level of the battery is less than the first reference levelVref1 (S22, YES), the battery may be charged according to the switchingcharging method (S23), and the process may return to S22. For example,the voltage level of the battery may be increased since the battery ischarged according to the switching charging method.

When the voltage level of the battery is greater than or equal to thefirst reference level Vref1 (S22, NO), it may be determined whether thevoltage level of the battery is greater than the second reference levelVref2 (S24), and when the voltage level of the battery is greater thanthe second reference level Vref2 (S24, YES), the battery may be chargedaccording to a constant voltage control method (S26). For example, thebattery may be charged according to the constant voltage control methodbased on the switching charging method without performing the directcharging method. On the other hand, when the voltage level of thebattery is less than the second reference level Vref2 (S24, NO), sincethe requirement for direct charging is satisfied, the battery may becharged according to the direct charging method (S25). As describedabove, when the voltage of the battery is greater than the secondreference level Vref2 in the case where the charger is connected to theelectronic system, the battery charging operation may be completedwithout performing the direct charging, and when the voltage of thebattery corresponding to a level between the first reference level Vref1and the second reference level Vref2, the direct charging operation maybe directly performed.

An input current from the charger may be detected and it may bedetermined whether an input current is less than a minimum set value(S27). In the charging operation according to the direct chargingmethod, the level of the input current from the charger (or the currentapplied to the battery) may be required to satisfy a certain range (forexample, a range between a minimum set value and a maximum set value),and accordingly, it may be possible to detect the level of the inputcurrent from the charger and determine whether the level of the inputcurrent is less than the minimum set value. When the level of the inputcurrent is less than the minimum set value (S27, YES), the chargingpower V_TA may be increased (S28). For example, the charging power V_TAmay be increased through communication between the charging managementchip and the charger. When the input current is greater than or equal tothe minimum set value (S27, NO), it may be determined whether the inputcurrent is greater than a maximum set value (S29). When the inputcurrent is greater than the maximum set value (S29, YES), the chargingpower V_TA may be decreased (S30). For example, the charging power V_TAmay be reduced through communication between the charging managementchip and the charger. On the other hand, when the input current is lessthan or equal to the maximum set value (S29, NO), the process returns toS24.

In the charging process according to the direct charging method, theoperation of determining whether the battery voltage is greater than thesecond reference level Vref2 may be continuously performed, and when thebattery voltage rises to exceed the second reference level Vref2 (S24,YES), the charging operation according to the constant voltage controlmethod may be performed as described above. Thereafter, it may bedetermined whether the battery voltage is equal to the maximum chargingamount (S31), and when the battery voltage is equal to the maximumcharging amount (S31, YES), the charging operation may be terminated(S32). Otherwise, when the battery voltage is not equal to the maximumcharging amount (S31, NO), charging according to the constant voltagecontrol method may be continuously performed until the battery voltagebecomes equal to the maximum charging amount. That is, the process mayreturn to S31.

FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C are circuit diagrams illustrating various chargingmodes of a charging management chip, according to example embodiments.Configurations and operations of the various circuits illustrated inFIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C have been described in the above embodiments, andthus detailed descriptions thereof are omitted for conciseness. In theembodiments illustrated in FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C, it is assumed that acharging management chip 500 receives the charging power via the wiredinterface as the charger corresponding to the wired charger is connectedto the electronic system. However, this is only an example, and in someembodiments, the charging management chip 500 may receive the chargingpower via the wireless interface as the charger, or may receive thecharging power via both the wired interface and the wireless interfaceas the charger, as discussed above.

Referring to FIG. 8A, a case where the switching charging circuit 510operates in the charging mode, and the direct charging circuit 520 is inan off mode is illustrated. Accordingly, a first charging path (see,e.g., Path_S in FIG. 3) via the switching charging circuit 510 may beactivated while a second charging path (see, e.g., Path_D in FIG. 3) viathe direct charging circuit 520 may be deactivated. Charging power fromthe charger may be provided to the switching charging circuit 510 viathe OVP IC, and the charging power may be provided to a buck controlcircuit via the first input switch Q1. In addition, the battery may becharged through a first charging path including the buck controlcircuit, the inductor L, and the path control switch Q21.

FIG. 8B illustrates an example in which the direct charging circuit 520operates in the charging mode and the switching charging circuit 510operates in the buck mode. Accordingly, the first charging path via theswitching charging circuit 510 may be deactivated while a secondcharging path via the direct charging circuit 520 may be activated. Asan example, since the charging power provided to the switching chargingcircuit 510 is provided to the direct charging circuit 520 via the firstnode VBYP, and a switching circuit (not illustrated) in the directcharging circuit 520 is turned on, the battery may be charged through asecond charging path including the input node VIN, the switching circuit(not illustrated) in the direct charging circuit 520, and the outputnode VOUT.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8B, since the switching chargingcircuit 510 operates in the buck mode, some of the power from thecharger may be provided via the first buck switch Q11 and the inductor Las the system voltage Vsys. In addition, as the path control switch Q21is turned off, the first charging path through the switching chargingcircuit 510 may be deactivated.

FIG. 8C illustrates an example in which both the switching chargingcircuit 510 and the direct charging circuit 520 operate in the chargingmode, and accordingly, the first charging path (see, e.g., Path_S inFIG. 3) via the switching charging circuit 510 and the second chargingpath (see, e.g., Path_D in FIG. 3) via the direct charging circuit 520may be activated together. As an example, the battery may be chargedthrough the buck control circuit and the power path control circuitthrough the first charging path including the path control switch Q21,and the battery may be charged through the second charging pathincluding the input node VIN, a switching circuit (not illustrated) inthe direct charging circuit 520, and the output node VOUT in the directcharging circuit 520. That is, in other words, both Path_S and Path_D inFIG. 3 may be used together in the example illustrated in FIG. 8C.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a charging operationusing various charging modes illustrated in FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C,according to an example embodiment.

Referring to FIGS. 8A, 8B, 8C, and 9, an external charger is connected(S41). For example, the external charger may be connect to an electronicsystem. The charging management chip may charge the battery in theswitching charging (SC) mode with the direct charging (DC) off mode(S42). For example, the charging management chip may charge the batteryin the switching charging mode with the switching charging method asdescribed above with reference to FIG. 8A until the type of theconnected charger is recognized. Accordingly, the switching chargingcircuit may operate in the switching charging (SC) mode, and the directcharging circuit may maintain a direct charging (DC) off mode.

The type of the charger may be determined and the charging amount (orthe voltage) of the battery may be verified (S43). For example, todetermine whether to charge the battery according to the direct chargingmethod, the type of the charger may be determined and the chargingamount (or the voltage) of the battery may be verified. As an example,it may be determined whether the connected charger supports only thenormal charging, or whether the connected charger supports the fastcharging together with the normal charging, and supports the directcharging according to the above embodiments, and in addition, when thevoltage of the battery exceeds a certain reference level, the batterymay be charged according to the direct charging method.

Based on the type of charger and the charging amount (or voltage) of thebattery, the switching charging circuit may operate in the switchingcharging (SC) buck mode and the direct charging circuit may operate inthe direct charging (DC) charging mode (S44_1), or the switchingcharging circuit may operate in the switching charging (SC) mode and thedirect charging circuit may operate in the direct charging (DC) chargingmode (S44_2). That is, the direct charging circuit may enter the directcharging mode. In addition, in the charging mode of the direct chargingcircuit, the switching charging circuit may operate in various modes. Asan operation example, when the power of the electronic system is on, thesystem voltage may need to be provided to various components inside theelectronic system, and in this case, when the switching charging circuitoperates in the buck mode, the system voltage may be provided. When thepower of the electronic system is off, the switching charging circuitmay operate in the charging mode.

Thereafter, as the battery is charged according to the direct chargingmethod, the battery voltage may be increased, and the battery voltagemay reach a set level (S45). When the battery voltage reaches the setlevel, the switching charging circuit may operate in the switchingcircuit (SC) charging mode to finely adjust the charging amount of thebattery, and the direct charging circuit may be changed to the directcharging (DC) off mode (S46), and thus the switching charging circuitmay finely control the charge amount of the battery in the constantvoltage charging method.

FIG. 10 illustrates an implementation example of a charging managementchip according to various example embodiments.

The electronic system employing the charging management chip may supportcharging by using various methods such as the wired charging and thewireless charging. However, some electronic systems may support only thewired charging. In this case, the charging management chip 600 in theelectronic system supporting only the wired charging may omit a wirelessinterface, and accordingly, the configuration of an input switch circuit611 of a switching charging circuit 610 of the charging management chip600 may be modified with respect to the above-described embodiments.

As an example, the charging management chip 600 may operate according tovarious charging modes by including the switching charging circuit 610and the direct charging circuit 620, and the charging power from anexternal wired charger may be provided to the input switch circuit 611of the switching charging circuit 610 via an OVP IC 601.

The input switching circuit 611 may include the first input switch Q1and the second input switch Q2, and one node of the first input switchQ1 may be connected to a first input terminal of the input switchingcircuit 611, and one node of the second input switch Q2 may be connectedto a second input terminal of the input switching circuit 611. Inaddition, when the charging management chip 600 is employed in anelectronic system that does not support the wireless charging function,the second input terminal may not be connected to the wirelessinterface.

In this case, the first input terminal and the second input terminal maybe electrically shorted to each other, and accordingly, when the firstinput switch Q1 and the second input switch Q2 are connected in paralleland turned on, an equivalent resistance value of the first and secondswitches Q1 and Q2 may be reduced, and the charging efficiency may beimproved. In an embodiment, the OVP IC 601 may provide the chargingpower from the wired charger via the charging power output node, and thefirst input terminal of the input switch circuit 611 may be electricallyconnected to the charging power output node. In addition, the secondinput terminal of the input switching circuit 611 may be connected to awiring formed outside the charging management chip 600, and since thewiring connected to the second input terminal is connected to theaforementioned charging power output node, the first input terminal andthe second input terminal may be electrically shorted.

According to the above-described example embodiments, when the chargingmanagement chip according to the example embodiments is employed in anelectronic system that supports the wired charging and wireless chargingfunctions, even though the wired charger and the wireless charger aresimultaneously connected to the electronic system, the charging powerfrom one charger may be selected by using a selective switchingoperation of the first input switch Q1 and the second input switch Q2,and accordingly, a short between a plurality of chargers may beprevented. When the electronic system supports only the wired chargingaccording to the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10, the chargingefficiency may be improved by electrically shorting the first inputterminal and the second input terminal of the input switching circuit611.

In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10, a case in which thefirst input terminal and the second input terminal are shorted viawirings formed outside the charging management chip 600 is described.However, embodiments are not limited thereto. In some embodiments, aconnection control switch (not illustrated) connected between the firstinput terminal and the second input terminal may be provided in thecharging management chip 600, and whether the wireless charging of theelectronic system employing the charging management chip 600 may beverified, and by turning on the connection control switch (notillustrated) according to the verification result, the first inputterminal and the second input terminal may be electrically connected.

In addition, according to some example embodiments, it may be determinedwhether the charging power is provided to the charging management chip600 via the wireless interface, and according to the determinationresult, the turn-on/turn-off of the connection control switch (notillustrated) may be controlled. As an example, when the connectioncontrol switch (not illustrated) is further included in the chargingmanagement chip, and the charging power via the wireless charger is notprovided (or the wireless charger is not connected), by turning on theconnection control switch (not illustrated), the first input terminaland the second input terminal may be electrically connected.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are graphs illustrating examples of a charging profileaccording to a related at switching charging method and a chargingprofile according to a switching charging method and a charging profilean example embodiment, respectively. In the graphs of FIGS. 11A and 11B,a horizontal axis may represent time, and a vertical axis may representa charge current Ibat and a battery voltage Vbat. In addition, thecharging current Ibat illustrated in FIGS. 11A and 11B may correspond toa current provided to the battery, or may correspond to a current of thecharging power provided from a charger. For example, the current levelIbat of the charging power provided from the charger may be defined as asum of a current actually provided to the battery and a current (forexample, a load current) provided to the node VSYS connected to thesystem voltage Vsys. In the following embodiment, it is assumed that thecharging current Ibat of FIGS. 11A and 11B corresponds to the current ofthe charging power supplied from the charger.

Referring to FIG. 11A, since the charger connected to the electronicsystem does not support the direct charging function, the battery may becharged by the switching charging method. For example, since variouslevels of charging current or charging voltage are provided to thebattery in the switching charging method, the switching chargingoperation may include a plurality of periods, and as an example in FIG.11A, first through fourth periods T1 through T4 are illustrated.

In the first period T1, the battery may be in a state of beingover-discharged such that the voltage VBat is below a certain level (forexample, below about 3.1 V), and since the battery stability may bedeteriorated when a high current is provided to the battery in the stateof being over-discharged, the battery may be charged based on thecharging current Ibat having a relatively low level, and accordingly,the battery voltage Vbat may be slowly increased during the first periodT1.

The second period T2 may correspond to a constant current section, andsince the battery is charged by using the charging current Ibat having alevel higher than that of the first period T1, the battery voltage Vbatmay be rapidly increased. As an operation example, the level of thecharging current Ibat may be maintained constant in the second periodT2. In an example embodiment, the second period T2 may correspond to aquick charging period when the charger supports quick charging. When thebattery voltage Vbat rises to a certain set level, the switchingcharging operation may enter the third period T3.

The third period T3 may correspond to the constant voltage period, andin the third period T3, the battery voltage Vbat may be maintainedconstant and the level of the charging current Ibat may be reduced. Whenthe level of the charging current Ibat is reduced to a certain setlevel, the supply of the current to the battery may be stopped. When thesupply of the current to the battery is stopped, the battery may bedischarged. When the battery voltage Vbat is lowered to the set level,the switching charging operation may enter the fourth period T4. Toincrease the battery voltage Vbat in the fourth period T4, the chargingcurrent Ibat may be temporarily provided to the battery.

FIG. 11B illustrates examples of charging profiles when the directcharging method is applied according to example embodiments. In FIG.11B, a charger connected to an electronic system supports the directcharging function, and accordingly, the electronic system maycommunicate with the charger via various terminals (for example, a CCpin in the USB Type C structure) to provide level adjustment informationto the charger, and the charger may adjust and output the level of thecharging power according to the level adjustment information from theelectronic system. According to an example embodiment, the chargingprofile in FIG. 11B may include first to fifth periods T1 through T5.

First, a charger supporting the direct charging function may beconnected to the electronic system, and may charge the battery by theswitching charging operation by using a relatively low level of thecharging current Ibat in the first period T1, and accordingly, thebattery voltage Vbat may increase slowly during the first period T1. Inaddition, it may be determined whether the charger connected to theelectronic system supports the direct charging function during the firstperiod T1, and when the level of the battery voltage Vbat rises to alevel at which the direct charging is possible, a battery charging modemay be changed from the switching charging mode to the direct chargingmode at a second time period T2.

According to an example embodiment, a minimum set value ISET_MIN and amaximum set value ISET_MAX may be defined such that the level of thecharging current Ibat is maintained within a certain range in the secondperiod T2. According to an example embodiment, the level of the chargingcurrent Ibat may be compared with the minimum setting value ISET_MIN andmaximum setting value ISET_MAX, and according to the comparison result,the level of the charging power (or charging current) may be adjusted.

Until the level of the charging current Ibat becomes greater than theminimum set value ISET_MIN in the second period T2, the electronicsystem may provide the level adjustment information for increasing thelevel of the charging power to an external charger, and the externalcharger may increase the level of the charging power and provide theresultant charging power to the electronic system. Accordingly, thelevel adjustment information may be provided to the external charger toincrease the level of the charging power by step by step until the levelof the charging current Ibat becomes greater than the minimum set valueISET_MIN, and the level of the charging current Ibat reaches the maximumset value ISET_MAX. It is noted that four steps are illustrated in FIG.11B to reach the minimum set value ISET_MIN. However, this is only anexample, and in an implementation, the number of steps may be greater orfewer than four. In addition, when the level of the charging currentIbat reaches the maximum setting value ISET_MAX, the level adjustmentinformation may be provided to the external charger for lowering thelevel of the charging current Ibat by one step. In this way, the levelof the charging current Ibat may be maintained between the minimum setvalue ISET_MIN and the maximum set value ISET_MAX during the secondperiod T2.

The third period T3 may also correspond to the charging operation basedon the direct charging method, and the charging operation may becontrolled according to a method similar to the constant voltage (CV)control method. As an example, the level of the charging current Ibatmay be lowered step by step based on the communication between theelectronic system and the external charger, and the battery voltage Vbatmay increase finely or maintain a constant level during the third periodT3. Thereafter, when the level of the charging current Ibat drops to acertain set value (or when the battery voltage Vbat reaches a certainset level), the switching charging operation may be changed from thedirect charging mode to the switching charging mode, and accordingly,the charging operation may enter the fourth period T4.

The fourth period T4 may correspond to the CV period of the switchingcharging operation, and accordingly, the level of the charging currentIbat may be reduced, and the battery voltage Vbat may be maintainedconstant. When the fourth period T4 ends and the fifth period T5 starts,the charging operation may end in the fifth period T5. In addition, thesupply of the charging current is stopped in the fifth period T5, andthe battery may be discharged, and in some example embodiments thecharging current Ibat may be temporarily provided to the battery forraising the battery voltage Vbat in the fifth period T5.

In the example embodiment illustrated with reference to FIG. 11B, theswitching charging operation is described as being terminated in thedirect charging operation, but the example embodiments are not limitedthereto. For example, the switching charging operation and the directcharging operation may be performed together, and accordingly, theswitching charging operation may be performed together with the directcharging operation in the second period T2 and the third period T3.

FIGS. 12A, 12B, 13A, and 13B are circuit diagrams illustrating exampleimplementations of a switching circuit and switching operations providedin the direct charging circuit. The switching circuits according to theexample embodiments are not limited to the configurations of the circuitdiagrams illustrated in FIGS. 12A, 12B, 13A, and 13B, and modificationin various types may be possible as long as the same or similarfunctions as the functions according to the example embodiments may beperformed.

Referring to FIGS. 12A and 12B, the switching circuit of the directcharging circuit may include a plurality of switches, and a first switchQ41, a second switch Q42, a third switch Q43 and a fourth switch Q44 areillustrated as examples. The first through fourth switches Q41 throughQ44 may be connected in series between the input node VIN and the groundvoltage, and a node between the second switch Q42 and the third switchQ43 may be the output node VOUT. In addition, the direct chargingcircuit may be connected to one or more capacitors (Ca and Cout), and asan example, the capacitors (Ca and Cout) may be passive devices arrangedoutside the charging management chip. The first capacitor Ca may beconnected between one node of the first switch Q41 and one node of thefourth switch Q44, and the output capacitor Cout may be connected to theoutput node VOUT. Accordingly, the direct charging circuit may operateas a voltage divider (or a capacitor divider).

Referring to FIG. 12B, the switching operation of the first throughfourth switches Q41 through Q44 may be controlled in the chargingoperation according to the direct charging method. For example, whilethe first switch Q41 and the third switch Q43 are turned on, the secondswitch Q42 and the fourth switch Q44 may be turned off, and during thecorresponding period, the first capacitor Ca may be charged. Inaddition, while the first switch Q41 and the third switch Q43 are turnedoff, the second switch Q42 and the fourth switch Q44 may be turned on,and during the corresponding period, the first capacitor Ca may bedischarged. The above periods may be repeatedly performed, and thevoltage level of the output node VOUT corresponding to the voltagecharged in the output capacitor Cout may repeat rising and fallingwithin a certain range, and the voltage output via the output node VOUTmay be provided to the battery.

Referring to FIGS. 13A and 13B, the switching circuit of the directcharging circuit may include a plurality of switches, and for example, afirst switch Q51 a, a second switch Q52 a, a third switch Q53 a, and afourth switch Q54 a may be provided in a first capacitor block CB1, anda fifth switch Q51 b, a sixth switch Q52 b, a seventh switch Q53 b, andan eighth switch Q54 b may be provided in a second capacitor block CB2.In addition, a node between the second switch Q52 a and the third switchQ53 a may be connected to a first output node VOUT1 of the firstcapacitor block CB1, and a node between the sixth switch Q52 b and theseventh switch Q53 b may be connected to a second output node VOUT2 ofthe second capacitor block CB2. In addition, a first capacitor Ca may beconnected between one node of the first switch Q51 a and one node of thefourth switch Q54 a, and a second capacitor Cb may be connected betweenone node of the fifth switch Q51 b and one node of the eighth switch Q54b. The first capacitor Ca and the second capacitor Cb may be connectedto an output capacitor Cout. In addition, the first capacitor Ca, thesecond capacitor Cb, and the output capacitor Cout may be passivecomponents arranged outside the charging management chip.

Referring to FIG. 13B, in the charging operation according to the directcharging method, a switching operation of the first through eighthswitches (Q51 a through Q54 a and Q51 b through Q54 b) in the firstcapacitor block CB1 and the second capacitor block CB2 may becontrolled. For example, the second capacitor Cb may be discharged whilethe first capacitor Ca is charged, and the second capacitor Cb ischarged while the first capacitor Ca is discharged. Accordingly, avoltage of the second output node VOUT2 may decrease while a voltage ofthe first output node VOUT1 increases, and in addition, the voltage ofthe second output node VOUT2 may increase while the voltage of the firstoutput node VOUT1 decreases, and thus, the voltage of the output nodeVOUT provided to the battery may maintain a substantially constantlevel.

FIG. 14 is a graph illustrating another example of a charging profile ofa charging management chip, according to an example embodiment. In FIG.14, a case is illustrated in which the fast charging is applied in acharging process for a battery, and in addition, performed together withthe switching charging method and the direct charging method.

Referring to FIG. 14, in the first period T1, the battery may be chargedby using the charging current Ibat of a relatively low level based onthe normal charging operation of the switching charging method, and thebattery voltage Vbat may be slowly increased. In the second period T2,the battery may be charged by using the charging current Ibat of arelatively high level based on the fast charging operation of theswitching charging method, and accordingly, a rate of increase of thebattery voltage Vbat may be increased.

Once the requirement for direct charging of the battery is satisfied, inthe third period T3, the charging according to the switching chargingmethod (for example, the quick charging method) and the direct chargingmethod may be performed together, and accordingly, the level of thebattery voltage Vbat may be increased much faster. In the third periodT3, the level of the charging power may be adjusted based oncommunication with an external charger, and for example, the leveladjustment information may be provided to the external charger such thatthe level of the charging current Ibat has a level between the minimumset value ISET_MIN and the maximum set value ISET_MAX similar to in theexample embodiment illustrated with respect to FIG. 11B. Thereafter, thedirect charging operation may be terminated. In the fourth period T4,the charging operation for the battery may be performed based on thefast charging operation of the switching charging method; in the fifthperiod T5, since the battery is charged according to the CV controlmethod, the charging current may be decreased, and accordingly, thebattery voltage Vbat may be maintained constant; and the chargingoperation may be terminated in the sixth period T6.

FIGS. 15 and 16 are block diagrams illustrating implementation examplesof electronic systems 700A and 700B including charging management chips,according to example embodiments, respectively. FIGS. 15 and 16illustrate communication examples according to various methods betweenelectronic systems and external chargers.

Referring to FIG. 15, the electronic system 700A may include a chargingmanagement chip 710A and an application processor (AP) 720A, and thecharging management chip 710A may include a CC circuit block, aswitching charging circuit, and a direct charging circuit. The chargingmanagement chip 710A and the AP 720A may transmit and receive varioustypes of information. For example, the charging management chip 710A mayprovide to the AP 720A various pieces of information Info B includingthe battery charge state or the level of the charging power providedfrom the charger. The AP 720A may determine the battery state based onthe various pieces of information Info_B, and accordingly, may performfunctions such as a controlling operation of a display.

The charging management chip 710A and the AP 720A may be implemented asseparate chips, and since the CC circuit block is provided in thecharging management chip 710A, the charging management chip 710A maycommunicate with the external charger through a connector. According toan example embodiment, the charging management chip 710A may communicatewith the external charger regardless of the control from the AP 720A,and in the process of charging the battery according to the chargingprofile according to the above-described example embodiments, thecharging management chip 710A may provide the level adjustmentinformation Info UD to the external charger, and receive from theexternal charger the charging power V_TA in which the level thereof hasbeen adjusted.

Referring to the electronic system 700B of FIG. 16, the electronicsystem 700B may include a charging management chip 710B and anapplication processor (AP) 720B, and the charging management chip 710Bmay include a CC circuit block, a switching charging circuit, and adirect charging circuit, similar to the electronic system 700A of FIG.15. However, in the electronic system 700B of FIG. 16, provision of thelevel adjustment information Info_UD to the external charger may becontrolled by the AP 720B, and the AP 720B may receive the variouspieces of information Info_B from the charging management chip 710B, andbased on the received various pieces of information Info_B, may provideto the charging management chip 710B a request Req_UD for adjusting thelevel of the charging power source V_TA. According to exampleembodiments, the AP 720B may determine whether the level of the chargingpower from the charger has been adjusted based on the various pieces ofinformation Info_B, and may provide to the charging management chip 710Bthe request Req_UD according to the determination result. The chargingmanagement chip 710B may provide to the external charger the leveladjustment information Info_UD based on the request Req_UD from the AP720B.

While the inventive concept has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to various example embodiments thereof, it will beunderstood that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the following claims.

1. A charging management chip comprising: a switching charging circuitconfigured to receive charging power from an external charger and passthrough the charging power to a first node, and configured to charge abattery according to a switching charging method and control generationof a system voltage provided to an electronic system comprising thecharging management chip; and a direct charging circuit configured toreceive the charging power applied to the first node via an input node,and configured to charge the battery according to a direct chargingmethod by providing the charging power to the battery via an output nodebased on a switching operation of a switching circuit therein, whereinthe switching charging circuit charges the battery through a firstcharging path comprising an inductor arranged outside the chargingmanagement chip, and the direct charging circuit charges the batterythrough a second charging path through which the charging powertransferred to the output node is provided directly to the battery. 2.The charging management chip of claim 1, wherein the switching chargingcircuit and the direct charging circuit are formed on a samesemiconductor substrate.
 3. The charging management chip of claim 1,wherein, when the electronic system is in an on state, the switchingcharging circuit generates the system voltage and the direct chargingcircuit charges the battery, and when the electronic system is in an offstate, both the switching charging circuit and the direct chargingcircuit together charge the battery.
 4. The charging management chip ofclaim 1, wherein the switching charging circuit comprises: an inputswitching circuit comprising a first input switch configured to transferto the first node the charging power provided from the external chargercorresponding to a wired charger; a buck control circuit comprising afirst buck control switch and a second buck control switch connectedbetween the first node and a ground voltage, the buck control circuitbeing connected to one end of the inductor via a second node and beingconfigured to control a charging operation or generation of the systemvoltage; and a power path control circuit comprising a path controlswitch configured to control a transfer path of the charging power tothe battery.
 5. The charging management chip of claim 4, wherein thecharging management chip is connected to an external wireless chargervia a wireless interface and further receives the charging power fromthe external wireless charger, and the input switching circuit furthercomprises a second input switch configured to transfer the chargingpower from the external wireless charger to the first node.
 6. Thecharging management chip of claim 4, wherein the input switching circuitfurther comprises a second input switch connected to the first node andarranged in parallel with the first input switch, and the second inputswitch is electrically connected to an input terminal of the first inputswitch via a wiring outside the charging management chip.
 7. Thecharging management chip of claim 1, wherein the switching circuit ofthe direct charging circuit comprises: one or more first switchesconnected between the input node and the output node; and one or moresecond switches connected between the output node and a ground voltage,wherein the output node is connected to an output capacitor arrangedoutside the charging management chip, and the switching circuit operatesas a voltage divider according to a switching configuration of the oneor more first switches and the one or more second switches.
 8. Thecharging management chip of claim 1, wherein the charging managementchip receives the charging power via a universal serial bus (USB) Type-Cconnector, and comprises a configuration channel (CC) circuit blockconfigured to communicate with the external charger via at least one ofa CC1 pin and a CC2 pin among a plurality of pins comprised in the USBType-C connector, wherein, during a charging operation according to thedirect charging method, the CC circuit block provides, to the externalcharger, level adjustment information for adjusting a level of thecharging power provided from the external charger.
 9. The chargingmanagement chip of claim 8, wherein the charging management chip furthercomprises a power meter configured to detect at least one of a level ofvoltage and a level of current of the charging power provided from theexternal charger and generate a first detection result, and the firstdetection result is provided to at least one of the switching chargingcircuit and the direct charging circuit.
 10. The charging managementchip of claim 8, wherein the charging management chip further comprisesa fuel gauge configured to detect at least one of a level of voltage anda level of current of the battery and generate a second detectionresult, and the second detection result is provided to at least one ofthe switching charging circuit and the direct charging circuit.
 11. Thecharging management chip of claim 1, wherein the charging managementchip charges the battery through a charging profile using the switchingcharging circuit and the direct charging circuit, wherein the chargingprofile comprises: a first period in which, when a voltage of thebattery is less than a first reference level, the battery is chargedbased on the switching charging method; a second period in which, whenthe voltage of the battery is equal to or greater than the firstreference level, the battery is charged based on the direct chargingmethod; and a third period in which, when the voltage of the battery isgreater than a second reference level, a level of current provided tothe battery is reduced such that a voltage level of the battery ismaintained substantially constant.
 12. The charging management chip ofclaim 11, wherein, in the first period, it is determined whether theexternal charger supports a direct charging function, and a chargingoperation according to the direct charging method is selectivelyperformed according to a determination result.
 13. The chargingmanagement chip of claim 11, wherein the third period comprises a periodin which the level of the charging power is reduced step by step bycommunicating with the external charger according to the direct chargingmethod and a period in which a current provided to the battery isreduced according to the switching charging method.
 14. A chargingmanagement chip configured to control a charging operation for abattery, the charging management chip comprising: a switching chargingcircuit comprising a first input switch configured to transfer, to afirst node, charging power provided from an external charger, theswitching charging circuit being connected via a second node to one nodeof an inductor arranged outside the charging management chip andarranged in a switching charging path, the switching charging circuitbeing connected via a third node to a node corresponding to another endof the inductor and configured to provide a system voltage, theswitching charging circuit being configured to charge the battery byproviding the charging power to the battery when the switching chargingcircuit is connected to the battery via a fourth node; and a directcharging circuit configured to receive the charging power transmittedvia the first input switch at an input node that is connected to thefirst node, the direct charging circuit being configured to charge thebattery by directly providing the charging power via an output node tothe battery according to a switching state of a switching circuitconnected between the input node and the output node, wherein while thedirect charging circuit operates in a direct charging mode, theswitching charging circuit operates in a switching charging mode ofcharging the battery according to a switching charging method or in abuck mode of generating the system voltage.
 15. The charging managementchip of claim 14, wherein the switching charging circuit furthercomprises: a buck control circuit comprising a first buck control switchand a second buck control switch connected in series between the firstnode and a ground voltage, the buck control circuit comprising thesecond node between the first buck control switch and the second buckcontrol switch; and a power path control circuit including a pathcontrol switch connected between the third node and the fourth node andconfigured to control a transfer path of the charging power to thebattery.
 16. The charging management chip of claim 14, wherein theswitching charging circuit and the direct charging circuit are formed onan identical semiconductor substrate. 17-23. (canceled)
 24. A chargingmanagement chip comprising: a switching charging circuit configured toreceive charging power from an external charger, and to charge a batterythrough an inductor connected externally to the charging management chipaccording to a switching charging method and control generation of asystem voltage provided to an electronic system comprising the chargingmanagement chip; and a direct charging circuit configured to charge thebattery according to a direct charging method by providing the chargingpower directly to the battery without passing through a passivecomponent, wherein the switching charging circuit passes through thecharging power to the direct charging circuit to charge the batteryaccording to the direct charging method.
 25. (canceled)
 26. The chargingmanagement chip of claim 24, wherein, when the electronic system is inan on state, the switching charging circuit generates the system voltageand the direct charging circuit charges the battery, and when theelectronic system is in an off state, both the switching chargingcircuit and the direct charging circuit together charge the battery. 27.The charging management chip of claim 24, wherein the switching chargingcircuit comprises: an input switching circuit comprising a first inputswitch configured to transfer the charging power provided from theexternal charger corresponding to a wired charger to a first nodeconnected to the direct charging circuit; a buck control circuitcomprising a first buck control switch and a second buck control switchconnected between the first node and a ground voltage, the buck controlcircuit being connected to one end of the inductor via a second node andbeing configured to control a charging operation or generation of thesystem voltage; and a power path control circuit comprising a pathcontrol switch configured to control a transfer path of the chargingpower to the battery.
 28. The charging management chip of claim 27,wherein the direct charging circuit comprises: an input node connect tothe first node; an output node connected directly to the battery; one ormore first switches connected between the input node and the outputnode; and one or more second switches connected between the output nodeand the ground voltage, wherein the output node is connected to anoutput capacitor arranged outside the charging management chip.